Study Parameters

GLHF provides configurable parameters to control the study lifecycle, requirements, and participant-facing branding.

Study Lifecycle

The study follows a linear progression for each participant:

Phases

1. Enrollment — Participant signs up, consents, and links required accounts (Steam, optionally Discord)
2. Data Collection — Cron jobs collect Steam play data for STUDY_DAYS_BEFORE_SURVEY days
3. Survey Period — A Qualtrics survey is distributed; reminders sent after STUDY_SURVEY_REMINDER_DAYS days; link expires after STUDY_SURVEY_EXPIRATION_DAYS days
4. Completion — Study is marked complete STUDY_END_DAYS_AFTER_SURVEY days after the survey is sent

Timeline Variables

Variable	Description	Default
STUDY_DAYS_BEFORE_SURVEY	Days of play data collection before survey	7
STUDY_SURVEY_EXPIRATION_DAYS	Days before the survey link expires	7
STUDY_SURVEY_REMINDER_DAYS	Days after survey send to send a reminder	3
STUDY_END_DAYS_AFTER_SURVEY	Days after survey send before marking complete	14

Example timeline: With defaults, a participant who enrolls on Day 0 receives their survey on Day 7, a reminder on Day 10, the link expires on Day 14, and the study completes on Day 21.

Study Name

The participant-facing study name (e.g., "GamingStudy") is configured in the Strapi admin panel:

1. Go to Content Manager → Global (single type)
2. Set the studyName field

This name appears in:

• Email communications (magic links, survey invites)
• Discord bot messages
• Site footer
• Survey invite headers (Qualtrics fromName)

studyName is one of several fields on the Global single type. See CMS Content Configuration for the full set of configurable Global fields.

Enrollment Requirements

These flags control what accounts participants must link before the study begins collecting data:

Variable	Description	Default
STEAM_REQUIRED	Participant must link a Steam account	true
DISCORD_REQUIRED	Participant must link a Discord account	(empty = not required)

Steam Visibility Requirements

Additional flags control what Steam data must be accessible:

Variable	Description	Default
STEAM_REQUIRE_OWNED_GAMES	Participant must have owned games on Steam	false
STEAM_REQUIRE_PLAYTIME_PUBLIC	Participant's playtime must be publicly visible	true
STEAM_REQUIRE_RECENT_PLAYTIME	Participant must have recent playtime data	false

These are checked when a participant links their Steam account. If requirements aren't met, the participant is informed about what needs to change in their Steam privacy settings.